The Conditions of Service implementation for over 145,000 nurses and midwives has been suspended indefinitely due to a court injunction. The suspension follows a court injunction by an aggrieved section of the nurses and midwives who criticized the leadership of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) of not involving them in the signed agreement.President of the GRNMA, Perpetual Ofori Ampofo, who spoke at the second biennial conference of midwives has described the injunction as unfair.In July this year, the leadership of the GRNMA signed its conditions of service to improve the lot of nurses and midwives across the country.However, its implementation has been halted due to a court injunction.
The court injunction was secured by some 200 psychiatric nurses who felt disgruntled about the agreement signed.
They claimed that the national leadership of the GRNMA did not seek their input into the signed agreement.President of the Association appeared disturbed about the injunction."Most of these things are hinged on the judge who is sitting on the case, so we are only praying that God will touch the person's heart and that issue can be put aside, so that the pressure that is coming in, us as leaders due to the lack of implementation of our recent signed conditions of service we can overcome it," she explained.Ahead of the hearing of the case next week, Mrs Ampofo has described the injunction as unfair."I said it is unfair and unjust for our own colleagues to do this to us, because it is never about the few of them, they should have considered the thousands of nurses and midwives in this country.""They should be around two hundred, three hundred thereabouts and that compared to the over 145,000 nurses and midwives, I think is unfair and is unjust for them to have done that to us," the GRNMA President added.In a related development, the Midwives Society of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association has called on government to provide incentives for midwives.The midwives complained about lack of infrastructure and logistics for work.
Of a major concern to them is the nonpayment of deprived area allowance for midwives.Mrs Ampofo called on government to be swift with the implementation of the allowance."It is an issue we are told is with cabinet, and we were hoping that it would have moved from cabinet to parliament, the package is beyond a percentage on monthly salary, it is about provision of accommodation, other incentives like shortened period for study leave, medical care, CPD trainings," she stated.The Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the Ghana Health Service Eva Mensah called for investment in the work of midwives."Invest in midwifery education, stakeholders must consider investing in midwifery education to ensure that curriculum is relevant, and it is evidence-based to help midwives".Other speakers at the conference called on government to roll out policies to improve the welfare of midwives across the country.The second biennial conference was on the theme "Empowering Midwives to achieve Universal Health Coverage: The role of stakeholders".